Responding to the DPRK's open letter, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do said in an official statement that Seoul still doubted about sincerity of the DPRK's recent peace overture as there were several times when Pyongyang provoked after calling for peace.

The open letter claimed that the DPRK's "important proposal" was not a "camouflaged" peace offensive, Kim said, noting that the South Korean government was anticipating the claim would be real.

One of the several cases, which Seoul cited as the cause of its suspicion, was the third nuclear test conducted by the DPRK in February last year.

Less than two months after stressing the importance of improved inter-Korean relations in its New Year's message, Pyongyang carried out nuclear test, while nullifying the armistice agreement, posing a nuclear threat and shutting down the joint Kaesong industrial complex, said the statement.

It also cited the "extreme" slandering of South Korean President Park Geun-hye by the DPRK's official media even after the peace proposal, noting that such inconsistency of words and action will not make any South Korean believe Pyongyang's sincerity over its proposal.

Kim said that whether it is a disguised peace offensive could not be recognized at one time with words, urging the DPRK to prove its sincerity with action from now on.

The DPRK's National Defense Commission (NDC) sent an open letter Thursday under a special order from DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, according to the official KCNA news agency.

The letter urged South Korea to stop all hostile military acts, the biggest hurdle stoking distrust and confrontation, stressing that the DPRK's initial peace call was not "camouflaged."

On Jan. 16, the NDC said in a three-point "important proposal" that inter-Korean relations could thaw if the two sides make concerted efforts to implement the proposal starting from Jan. 30 on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

The NDC especially urged Seoul to cancel its annual military drills with the United States scheduled from late February to April, but South Korea rejected the proposal as the exercise is defensive in nature.

The letter said that Pyongyang's aim was to stop the rehearsal for such northward invasion, noting that if Seoul and Washington want to go ahead with it, they could do that in the U.S. territory or any silent place away from the Korean Peninsula.

It also said that the DPRK decided to take action to stop all hostile military acts on the ground as well as in the air and sea near the frontline, including the disputed maritime border in the West Sea.

Regarding this, Seoul's statement said that innocent South Korean civilians fell victim to the indiscriminate artillery attack by the DPRK oo the front-line Yeonpyeong island near the western sea border, noting that Pyongyang was deploying, near the border island, numerous shore batteries, attack helicopters and submarines, and continuing military exercises.

The statement said that it would be illogical for the DPRK to demand the cancellation of the annual military drills with the United States, urging Pyongyang to stop provocations.

Seoul called on Pyongyang to make clear its stance on the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, saying that the DPRK should take "practical" action to give up its nuclear weapons program.

South Korea repeatedly called for the DPRK to accept its offer to hold reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War without any preconditions, saying that if Pyongyang keeps its word and builds trust with Seoul, there will be no issues that cannot be discussed between the two Koreas.

SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held the sub-panel talks Friday to discuss operation of electronics passage system and adoption of the Internet at the joint industrial complex in Kaesong, the DPRK' s border town. "As scheduled, the Kaesong industrial zone's subcommittee on communications, passage and customs began the talks as of 10 a.m.,"Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do told a routine press briefing. Full story

At a routine press conference, Unification Ministry Kim Eui-do said that the DPRK should make an immediate end to hurling invectives to South Korea, noting that it needs not to wait until the Lunar New Year's Day. Full story